I am one of the Free Software Foundation's newest interns, which is a
little surprising because less than a year ago, I didn't even know
what an operating system was. While interning here, I hope to help
myself and others to become more educated about free software. I also
hope to introduce free software as something that is very accessible,
easy to use, and most importantly, as something that does not restrict
users' freedoms.

As I mentioned earlier, I did not know what an operating system was
less than a year ago, so as you probably can guess, free software and
the ideas behind the Free Software Foundation are also fairly new to
me. Actually, the term "free software" wasn't even in my vocabulary
last October. Basically, the only word in my vocabulary even remotely
surrounding free software was "Linux". I only attributed "Linux" to
something that was impossibly hard to understand and used by angry
techno geeks. I knew these "geeks" using Linux hated Microsoft. I
could not understand this. Microsoft is everywhere, so why would
anyone hate Microsoft? I thought it worked well enough.

After being introduced to a few GNU/Linux users, my views on Microsoft
inevitably changed and my vocabulary was expanded after they gave me
many thorough explanations of the reasons for the creation of GNU, the
ideas the Free Software Foundation supports, and the problems
proprietary software has created. After discovering this, I made a
hesitant switch to GNU/Linux. I was afraid that because of my lack of
computer skills, I was not going to be able to figure out how to use
my computer, mess it all up, and not be able to take it back to the
store for repair because removing Microsoft from my computer might
waive my warranty.

To my great surprise, none of my fears were realized. I actually found
that Ubuntu was easier to use than my old operating system, Vista. It
had a cleaner interface, hardly ever crashed, and an incredible amount
of benefits that were never offered by my old operating system. I was
hooked and realized that my old stereotyped notions of GNU/Linux users
were unfounded.

After learning about how proprietary software restricts my freedoms,
and realizing that I am actually able to use free software, despite my
painfully limited computer skills, I of course wanted to spread this
information to others. This wish to help spread the knowledge of how
our freedoms are restricted by proprietary software is how I found my
way to an internship at the Free Software Foundation.

A lot of people, just like me less than a year ago, are completely
ignorant of an alternative to proprietary software. Also, the level of
general awareness about how our freedoms are restricted needs to
change or else we will find ourselves cornered, and our freedoms
limited even further. I hope I will be able to reach out to those who
think, just as I did less than a year ago, that free software is not
something just for techno geek geniuses. That it's not necessary to
understand how a computer runs in order to use an operating system
that does not restrict one's freedoms. That it is possible to
understand how proprietary software restricts one's freedoms with
basically no background in computers. It is my hope that I will relate
to the computer user.

It is vitally important for our future, not only individually, but
communally and culturally, to spread awareness about free software and
the ideas motivating the Free Software Foundation. As an intern here,
I will hopefully help raise awareness about the freedoms proprietary
software restricts to a wider audience, while learning more about free
software myself. The freedoms that are being stripped away from users
are too great for so many people to continue to remain ignorant. I do
not want to see my, or anyone else's freedoms restricted any longer.